


Unchained melody

by Tantaylor



Category: Duran Duran
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 06:17:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19806433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tantaylor/pseuds/Tantaylor
Summary: Another translated fiction from the very beginning of my writing.





	Unchained melody

**Author's Note:**

> Another translated fiction from the very beginning of my writing.

London, January 2000  
Oh, my love, my darling  
I've hungered for your touch  
A long, lonely time  
Time goes by so slowly  
And time can do so much

Roger sits in his empty flat and funny enough he is happy as hell.  
For the first time in years everything feels right.  
Starting over new feels good, incredibly good. It feels like everything is possible again.  
He grins to himself and opens the whisky he brought with him. The CD player and the couch he^s sitting on are the only things in his new apartement so far, and the song coming out of the speakers now makes him smile even wider.  
Feelings are good.  
It’s almost creepy, isn^t it? Feelings are good.  
He stumbled over the CD when he was actually looking for all the Duran stuff he^s been missing.  
He^s never allowed himself to listen to it as long as he^s been with Giovanna, because he couldn^t stand the memories popping up with it.  
Hard enough to keep cool when a song was played on the radio unexpected.  
Maybe now that he^s divorced, he could call John. After all those years.  
Then he remembers that John is in the US and he doesn^t even have his number.  
He^s calling Simon instead.

LA, February 2000  
Are you still mine?  
I need your love  
I need your love  
God speed your love to me

„Daaaaaad!“ Atlanta yells. „Come here!“  
John put the book he^s reading aside, smiling.  
He has certainly made an infinite number of mistakes in his life, but his daughter is clearly the best thing that has ever happened to him.  
Yet alone her sight as she bounces out the terrace door now makes him happy to no end .  
« Simon^s here ! » she beams.  
„Simon who?“ John wonders and almost drops his ice tea when a tall, blue eyed man appears behind Beanie.  
„How many Simons do you know, Nigel?“ the singer grins and John finds himself in the man^s arms in a flash.  
„What the hell are you doing here, Charlie?“ JT asks when he^s able to speak again. Goodness, Simon! They haven't seen each other since John left the band in 1997. Charlie was angry and insulted, he took it very personally.  
For half a year they've been on the phone from time to time, but seeing him here now is overwhelming!  
„We have to talk, Taylor!“  
„There^s phones, you know, Simon? You don^t have to fly half the world to talk to me ! »  
„I have. It^s important. I want the band back, John! The original fab five.“  
„Let me guess! That^s Nick^s idea, huh ?“ There^s nothing he can do against the flutter in his chest, the excited flutter he^s always feeling when he thinks of…  
„ Roger is divorced, did you know? He called me last month.“ Simon grins.  
« Oh ! No…I …oh ! »  
« Beanie, honey, would you get me an ice tea ? » Simon turns to the girl and it^s all the way obvious that he wants to talk to the bassist without her presence.  
« You know, Nigel, I^m not stupid ! » he says quietly as soon as Atlanta rushed inside. « Neither stupid nor blind, huh ? «  
« I have no idea what you^re talking about, Le Bon ! » John shrugs , but he can^t look into the singer^s eyes.  
« Feelings are good ! »  
« What ? »  
« He was listening to it when he called me. Over and over again. Call him. Talk to each other, sort things out, then let^s meet in France in May. I^ve already booked the villa. Ands and Nick are all in for a reunion, I just think our rhythm section should first get clear about their feelings for each other! Oh, that reminds me…“ he reaches into his pocket to pull his wallet out. „He came to dinner last week, Yas took a photo. I thought you might want to have a look at good old Froggy.“  
John is in no way prepared for that. A single, quick look at the picture Simon hands him and all those carefully built up walls around his heart broke with a clash,with a whisper,with a careless memory.  
„Aged well, our drummer, don^t you think?“ Simon winks.  
That^s true. He did, He looks great. And he¨s wearing a necklace. Eternity. John sinks back onto the deck chair, burries his face in his palms and couldn^t stop sobbing.  
Later this evening when Beanie is in bed, he tells Charlie what happened almost 15 years ago. It^s the first time he talks about it , and it feels like it happened just yesterday.

Japan, April 1985  
Lonely rivers flow  
To the sea, to the sea  
To the open arms of the sea  
Lonely rivers sigh  
"Wait for me, wait for me"  
I'll be coming home, wait for me

"Happy birthday, Frog!"  
John raises his glass with the most beautiful JT grin of all times.  
They are sitting on the bed in some hotelroom in Osaka.  
The attempt to celebrate Roger's birthday at the hotel bar was thwarted by a crazy mass of screaming fans.  
"They're crazy, these Japanese," Roger mumbles frustratedly, wondering once again if this is really the life he wants to lead.  
"Come on, Taylor, it’s ok! We^ll have a nice drink and philosophize. It's cozy here!"  
"Yes, great, really great! Cosy ? We^re locked up here like criminals !“  
" Honestly, Roger, you are so fucking negative! What's the matter with you, huh?"  
" What the matter is? I'm sitting here in a fucking hotel, I miss Gio, it's my birthday and...fuck!"  
How is he supposed to explain that to John? He can't explain it to himself! This morning he woke up, thousands of miles away from home, and in his head there was nothing but one big screaming painful *NO!*  
No! THIS isn^t my life! This is not me!  
" Hey!" John says quietly and puts his hand on his shoulder." Do you want to talk?"  
" I want...I...oh, I don't know what I want. It's not RIGHT, John! Somehow all this doesn't feel right anymore! I feel as if my life had been stolen!"  
The bass player sighs, "I know what you mean, Rog! Sometimes I ask myself...is that really me? I mean, me, Nigel...not the fucking John Taylor!"  
"I always thought you...I mean...you seem to enjoy it all so much!"  
"You don't know many things about me, Roger! And it's better that way too, believe me!" The tall thin man gets up and takes something out of the pocket of his jacket.  
"No, Nigel! Not now! Not here!“  
John laughs bitterly and throws a small package into the drummer's lap.  
"Relax, drummer! This is your birthday present. No drugs!"  
" Oh...thank you! "Roger blushes, deeply ashamed. Fuck! I thought he wanted to coke his brains out and he's giving me a present! Sorry, John!  
"I'll never take that stuff when we're together, my friend! Didn't you ever notice that? Come on, unpack!"  
It's a necklace. With a Japanese character.  
" I thought...because...Japan is ours somehow, isn^t it ?"  
With astonishment, the drummer realizes that his friend has also turned red.  
"Yes, the dream team in Japan! That's cult, John! Does it have any meaning ?"  
" Eternity, mate, it means eternity!"  
" Nothing is for eternity, John!"  
" You'll...you'll quit, won't you? You will leave Duran Duran!"  
" I think about it, yes! "  
There's a sound coming from John's throat that almost sounds like a sob." I knew it!“ he turns away. His back twitches strangely.  
Is he crying? Is John crying?  
Confused, Roger strokes his friend's back.  
"Who of us needs to talk here, John? Can I help you?"  
"No, Roger! No, you can't help me! Absolutely not! You go home to your wife, make some children..." The tone is icy cold and absolutely untypical for John.  
"John! Are you angry with me because I want to go? It has nothing to do with you! We are friends. We don't need Duran Duran to stay friends!"  
"I'm not angry" says John and it sounds very angry.  
"I know that you can't stand Gio, but that I want to leave has nothing to do with her. It is my very own decision!“ Only when he speaks it out loud he knows that the desicion is already made. Yes, he^s gonna leave the band.  
"Me? I can't stand Gio? How did you come up with such a stupid idea?"  
" So far you have refused every invitation to dinner, you only talk to her if there^s no other option, at our wedding you left before everyone else… "  
"Oh God! I think now I need a nose full of snow! Do me a favour, will you? Get your hand off me!"  
Only now Roger notices that he has caressed John's back all the time. He pulls his hand away as if he had burned himself.  
It's strange..he always feels very close to John. Such touches happen automatically. But now the bass player seems to be putting up a wall between them.  
"Damn it, Nigel! 5 minutes ago we wanted to celebrate!"  
"Yes, let's celebrate that you're leaving! Let's celebrate, that you¨ll happily leave me to do whatever you^re up to. Breeding sheep, what do I know. »  
When John finally turns to him, his eyes are burning like fire.  
"Just go away, Roger! It's probably the best anyway!" he blurts.  
" What is it,Taylor? What? You have no reason to yell at me like that!"  
Wordlessly, JT storms to the door.  
"You're not running away, John, not now! You^ll explain to me what's wrong with you! » Roger grabs the bassist^s arm.  
« Don't… touch...me ! « .John gasps and tries to push him away.  
Roger grasps even harder. His brain absolutely doesn't understand what's happening here.  
"Say it, John! What is your problem? SAY IT!"  
Suddenly the tall man seems to shrink..  
"I can't! I can't, Roger! I'm sorry...I...please let me go!"  
" There's nothing you can't tell me, John! Nothing! Out with it !"  
"You're right...I can't stand Gio!"  
"Ok...I already knew that! What else?“  
" You really don't know, do you? "  
" What, John? What do you mean?“  
John grabs Roger's shoulders and pushes him away. His breath goes fast and panting.  
"I love you, man! Fuck, Roger! I love you!"  
What..." Roger can't believe his ears. " You...what?"  
"I love you! And I hate Gio because you love her!"  
" John... "  
" You asked, Roger! Will you let me go now ? Can I please go now? Save me from further embarrassments, yes? I don't want to see the disgust in your eyes!"  
„Disgust? John! Look at me! What do you see?"  
"I see the man I love, Roger. And I see...tears???"" John carefully strokes his thumb over a stubbly, damp cheek.  
" You're an idiot, Taylor!" Rog sighs. " God, you are…why didn't you say anything, John?"  
"What should I have said? I want to be with you? I want to marry you? I want to sleep with you?"  
" That would have been it, yes!"  
"Ok...I want to be with you! I want to marry you! I want to sleep with you!"  
" You're with me right now!"  
"Yes. And you're already married!"  
" Because you didn't say anything!"  
« Are you kidding, Roger ? You love Gio, don^t you ? »  
" Yes. I love Gio...but...I...it's all not RIGHT, John! And now I know what it is! It's not Duran, it's not...it's...it's you!"  
" I'm not right?"  
" It's not right that we...are friends! That's it, Nigel! We have never been friends! We were...we are...more than that! There always was this special connection, wasn^t it? I never thought about it much, but…“  
« Roger !  
John's lips come close to his. Very close.  
Roger turns his head away. "John...don't do that! Please! Don't do that!"  
"There seem to be parts of your body that doesn^t agree with your words, Rog!“ The bassist pulls the drummer close.  
Rog moans softly as his erection rubs against John's jeans.  
" Please, John..."  
"Please John stop? Or maybe rather please John go on?"  
"Oh God! John! I ...."  
" Listen...leave Duran, leave me! Go home to your wife! But not tonight! Give me that night, Roger! Please! No one will ever know! Let me...let me be with you only once!"  
" I...god, I need a cigarette!" Roger stumbles backwards to the bed without letting John out of his sight.  
These lips! These eyes! Could it be? Do I love a man? Is it that what makes me feel so displaced ? do I love John?  
With cold, trembling fingers he lights a cigarette.  
" Does your good friend John get one too?" slowly JT approaches the bed.  
"Help yourself!  
John sits next to him and reaches for the cigarette box.  
Roger gives him a light.  
" Your hand is shaking, good friend!"  
" Cut this crap, Nigel!"  
" No crap, Taylor! Has anyone ever actually told you you're fucking sexy when you're shaking like that?"  
" Has anyone ever told you that you drive a man crazy?"  
" So I'm driving you crazy, Taylor? Interesting!“ John grins.  
Roger closes his eyes and takes a deep drag of his cigarrette.  
"Nervous, Taylor?" Fingers wander to Roger's neck, stroking gently.  
" Damn it, JOHN! What are you doing?"  
" Say, Roger... why don't you just kick me out, huh?"  
"I don't want to throw you out, John!"  
" What do you want, little frog? What do you want?"  
" Jesus Christ, John! I'm just trying to understand what's going on here! I'm sitting here in a strange hotel room in a strange country, my good old friend John is behaving very strangely..."  
"Yes, yes! And you've got a pretty weird bump in your pants!"  
" That's the weirdest thing ever, right!" Roger giggles helplessly.  
"I mean it, Roger, really! Give me this night or kick me out!"  
"I want you to stay, Nigel!" Roger hesitantly puts his hand on the bassist's thigh.  
John puts his hand over Rogers. Their fingers intertwine.  
They look at each other. Again, JT strokes Rogers cheek with his thumb.  
Their faces come so close that the tips of their noses touch.. Each feels the breath of the other on his skin.  
And then their lips meet. This time Roger does not turn away. A thousand thoughts explode in his head. I kiss John! His lips are...so soft! He tastes...so good! I kiss JOHN! And it feels...wonderful! It feels...right!  
He reaches into John's hair, and his lips open slightly. His heart is racing. Is this really happening?  
Long fingers begin to open the buttons of Roger's shirt. One hand lies on his chest, directly over his beating heart. It is rough, this hand. Rough and strong. It feels completely different than a woman's hand. Also the lips..they are soft and warm, but...different. Everything is so completely different! So completely new!  
Slowly these fingers wander over his hard belly. He holds his breath.  
"Oh GOD" he gasps into Johns mouth.  
"You feel fantastic! Much better than I imagined it" John whispers breathlessly into his ear. "Sleep with me, Roger!  
This voice! This voice sounds like honey! Like liquid velvet! Oh fuck!  
Roger's shirt falls from his shoulders, and those lips now explore his naked chest..  
The hand still lies on his stomach. Right over the waistband of the jeans.  
"How?" Roger gasps, and confused brown eyes meet his.  
" What?"  
"How? How... when we... who...?"  
" What?"  
Damn it, Roger! How old are you! Just say it!  
" Sleep with me... how?"  
" What do you mean,how? Are there several possibilities?" John looks so confused that Roger has to laugh.  
"Two, John! Two! There are two possibilities!"  
" Oh!" A broad grin appears in this striking face." That's right! You're right! I didn't...oh. "  
" So what?"  
" You mean, how?" John begins to giggle. And 3 seconds later both are lying on the bed screaming with laughter.  
"Holy christ, Roger! It's so great to laugh with you! I love your laughter, you know that?"  
"Thank you! Same here!“ He puts his arms around Nigel and pulls him to his chest. " So...let's try it again, ok?“  
" We haven't even tried it yet!"  
" Then finally tell me how you wanna try it, Nigel!“  
"I want to be in you, Roger. Please let me be in you.“  
" You mean... "  
"I...I want to share something with you that no woman will ever be able to share with you, you understand? "John whispers with a shaky voice.

« I understand! »  
" I won't...I won't hurt you, Roger. "  
"Oh, you certainly will! But that's...that's...it's OK!"  
" It's OK?"  
"Yes, John, it is! Because...I want it!"

It will be a long night. A very long night.  
And it hurts only briefly, very briefly.  
In the Japanese dawn two people cling to each other as if there^s no tomorrow.  
John is the first to drift over to sleep.  
Roger looks at him for a long time. 

London, March 2000  
Oh, my love, my darling  
I've hungered, for your touch  
A long, lonely time  
Time goes by so slowly  
And time can do so much  
Are you still mine?  
Final spurt! Panting heavily, Roger speeds up , the building he lives in is already in sight. Today he^s gonna beat his own record, for sure!  
He screams out a triumphant „Yeeees!“ as he crosses the road.  
Then he stops dead in his tracks, only a few feet before he^s reached the front door .That’s it for the record.  
There^s a tall slender figure leaning against that door and he blinks a few times, thinking that he^s most likely not seeing right. But the man^s still there.  
For a felt eternity he can^t move. The guy is reading a book and hasn^t spotted him yet.  
„John. Oh god, John. Is that really you?“ Roger says quietly, too quiet to be heard by the bassist.  
He doesn^t know what to think of it, how to feel about it. What is he doing here? He can^t just stand at his door after 15 years, that idiot! That¨s not fair!  
And then the bassist looks up from his book and their eyes meet.  
Oh bloody hell, this adorable JT-smile is still working it^s magic!  
„Roger!“  
In a split second the drummer finds himself embraced by incredibly long arms and for some reason they both laugh like mad. At some point the laughter turns into crying.  
„Oh heavens. Roger! Is this real ? » John sobs, his brown eyes filled with tears.  
„What are you doing here? John! I was close to have a heart attack! You should have called ! »  
« I couldn^t find the nerve to pick up the phone-it was somehow easier to enter a plane and fly over ! »  
« You^re crazy, John Taylor ! Come in ! »  
Roger is well aware of his trembling hand as he unlocks the door and after that moment of overwhelming joy he feels a bit awkward now as John follows him into the apartment.  
« Er…I go for a quick shower, ok? There^s tea and coffee and such, just help yourself!“  
Roger leans his forehead against the cool tiles in the bathroom. Goodness. John. John looks good. John feels good! Even better tham 15 years ago, now that he^s all sober and obviously healthy .It was so wonderfully familiar to have his arms around him. And he smells fantastic, John. The slight stubble on his chin and cheeks looks pretty masculine. Yeah, he looks a lot more masculine than he did in the 80s, than he did in Japan, 15 years ago.  
„John?“ he hears himself calling . „ Fancy to join me?“  
Where is that coming from? He can^t believe he said that!  
The door opens slowly and JT pokes his head in.  
„Did you actually just asked me to join you or was it wishful thinking?“  
„I^m tired of running away, John! Running away from myself. My whole life felt like one big lie! I thought it^d be better after I left Duran, but it was never about the band, was it? I tried, Johnny! I tried real hard for 15 years, but there^s been no single day without me thinking of you.“  
„Same here!“ John says as he steps into the bathroom.  
It feels like coming home. ¨

I need your love  
I need your love  
God speed your love to me


End file.
